Rewriting the Fairy Tale – “Adulting” in An Ever Changing World
When you were younger, did you have your life planned out? When we are younger we often think about our future and imagine that we will “have it all” when we get older. When we are old enough to drive, we will have the car of our dreams. When we move out, we will be able to transition seamlessly and be independent, no longer having to rely on our parents for anything. We think we will graduate college by 21, find a great job, get married, get promoted at work, buy a house, have one or two children, move up the corporate ladder and then retire by the time you were 50 at the latest.
Then life gets in the way of our plans. Life is not predictable and it will throw curve balls at us, usually when we least expect it. In previous generations it was much easier to enter the workforce because if you had a college or university education that was enough but now, unfortunately, many young people know that this is far from the reality they are faced with. In 2016 54% of individuals aged 25 to 64 had either a college or university education. This can make it difficult to find a job right out of university. With housing prices, continuing to rise the cost of buying a home is seemingly of reach. Renting on your own can also difficult and sometimes people are moving back home in their mid to late 20’s. And getting married? Well, who has time to get married when you are trying to figure out your career!
When you realize that life is not turning out how you planed it is not unusual to feel anxious, stressed or even sad. This workshop looks at how believing that life will turn out as you planned can have a negative impact on your mental health. It will provide you with strategies for how to cope when you are not meeting the expectation you had set for yourself. It will also discuss how to set more realistic expectations for yourself, so that you are able to recognize your accomplishments and to take the necessary steps forwards to feel more fulfilled with your life.
